Following the sensational legal fiasco between the FBI and Apple over encryption and the bypass that occurred when FBI hired a third-party to crack the iPhone's security feature, a similar case has surfaced in Los Angeles this time.
The L.A. Times reported that Los Angeles police investigators have successfully obtained a backdoor method to unlock the iPhone device belonging to the slain wife of "The Shield" actor Michael Jace.
On May 19, 2014, police responded to a shooting in 5400 block of Brynhurst Avenue and found April, Jace's wife, fatally wounded inside the couple's South L.A. home. April's iPhone has been the center of the murder trial against Michael, who the authorities believed was responsible for the brutal killing.
According to the authorities, a man called the police about 8:30 p.m., the same day of the murder, using Michael's cellphone, saying that "he shot his wife." The police arrested Michael the following day and charged him with murder.
In a search warrant that was issued, Los Angeles police said the actor and his wife had a series of text messages arguing "about their relationship," before Michael allegedly opened fire. Though Michael had no previous arrest record, police investigators said "divorce papers from a previous marriage include allegations of threats and domestic violence."
Michael's lawyers, however, argued that April was having an extramarital affair and successfully convinced the judge to delay the trial until the victim's iPhone undergoes a more thorough search other than the initial evidence supplied by the police. April's cellphone, on the other hand, was protected by a passcode that hindered the investigation.
The judge assigned to the case later issued a court order, compelling an Apple engineer to help police obtain additional information from the iPhone 5s device. This request was of course refused by Apple, explaining that the security risks involved in creating a backdoor on its products are high, and that this poses a "dangerous precedent."
After several failed attempts in unlocking the victim's mobile device, LAPD Detective Connie Zych disclosed on March 18 that the department has found a "forensic cellphone expert" who could "override the locked iPhone function." A lead investigator at the district attorney's office was finally able to inspect the phone in April, but refused to provide details on how the undisclosed third-party managed to crack the encryption.
